Residents 'shocked' at asylum seeker housing plan

Residents living near a site proposed to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers say they are "shocked" by the announcement.

Last week the Home Office announced plans to house asylum seekers at a Ministry of Defence (MoD) site in Bicester, Oxfordshire, as part of wider plans to move people out of hotels.

Known as "Site A" - the proposed site is between the villages of Piddington and Upper and Lower Arncott.

The announcement sparked widespread criticism from the district council and human rights groups as well as the local MP Calum Miller who accused the government of having "no credible plan". But what have local residents made of the plans?

Despite a range of opinions, nearly all of the residents we spoke to expressed a feeling of shock about the proposal for about 1,250 bedspaces to be provided at the site.

In a letter to service personel at the base, the MoD said provisional 270 asylum seekers were expected to be housed there by the end of 2026.

In Piddington, Mike Newbury said he was first made aware of it via a group chat and that it had come as a "shock" to the village.

"I think that's the worrying thing is we have no official information.

"We have no facilities here - we don't have a shop, we don't have a bus service so we're not going to be able to offer them anything."

But he added, that, with more information, he could have a "more informed decision, rather than scaremongering".

Ed West said for him and his family it was a "concern" but "we know it's a nationwide problem."

He said hotels "obviously isn't the solution in the long term" but questioned whether an MoD base on their doorstep was the "ideal location".

Other residents voiced their concern about what impact the site might have on safety in the community.

Chair of Piddington Parish Council Tim McNally said he was fearful over "security".

"We have young children, we've got elderly people.

"People actually have the comfort to walk at night through the village without consequence."

He wanted to know if the site would have open access. "How can it be controlled?," he asked.

A woman who did not want to be named said the site "needs to come with safeguards" but added "we need to be clear eyed" about immigration.

"We need to have a really robust process so we can help the people who are genuinely in need ... so that they can continue to live humane lives that are more than just existing."

There were also residents who felt unhappy that asylum seekers were being offered accommodation.

Linda Sheppard said she thought "it was absolutely disgusting".

"They're here living off our taxes, for what?"

In Upper Arncott, Darren - who did not want to give his surname - said he was concerned for the safety of his young family, but also that he was "fed up" of paying for people seeking asylum.

"We've got people in our own country that need it more than other countries as far as I'm concerned," he added.

The government stated its intention to increase the number of MoD sites it was using to accommodate asylum seekers last year.

Two former military sites - RAF Wethersfield in Essex, and Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex - are already being used to house asylum seekers.

Labour has pledged to stop using asylum hotels, a costly form of accommodation that has become a focal point for anti-migrant protests.

As of March this year, 20,885 (21%) asylum seekers were in hotels and 72,768 (75%) were in other accommodation as they awaited decisions.

Earlier this week, it announced that a further 20 hotels had closed to asylum seekers - including the Oxford Witney Hotel.